Wind farms face construction slowdown

Thursday

Jul 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2010 at 1:00 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of wind farms has fallen 71 percent nationwide this year and has disappeared from Iowa.

About 700 megawatts of capacity was completed in the first half of this year, and an additional 5,000 megawatts of capacity is under construction nationally ahead of the expiration of a grant program created by the 2009 stimulus bill, the American Wind Energy Association reported Tuesday.

But officials say the industry will continue its slowdown unless Congress enacts a national renewable-electricity mandate to reassure investors that there will be a market for additional wind power. A proposed mandate has been shelved in the Senate.

No sites are under construction in Iowa, though the state remains No. 2 in total wind generation capacity with 3,670 megawatts, according to the wind association.

No. 1 Texas added 202 megawatts in the first half of the year, the biggest growth in the country, to extend its total capacity to 9,708. California ranks No. 3 with 2,739 megawatts, a gain of 17 this year.

Manufacturing expansion also is in a lull. Orders for turbines rose slightly during the second quarter but not enough to encourage manufacturers to expand, the association said.

The House included a renewable-power mandate in a climate bill that narrowly passed the chamber a year ago, but the legislation stalled in the Senate. Democratic leaders are proceeding instead with a stripped-down energy bill that would omit any renewable-power mandate.

The smaller bill, which the Senate could take up this week, focuses on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and energy-efficiency measures that have the best chance of passing, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.